Tied Together
by foxydysphoria
Summary: On the battle of the Great Naruto Bridge, Naruto takes a hit for Sasuke and is sent into his mindscape where he meets the Bijuu who unintentionally made his life hell. Will tensions soar, or will Naruto and Kurama develop an alliance, changing the world, and Kurama, forever? AU, Good!Kurama, Platonic Friendship between Naruto and Kurama, Canon Pairings
1. A Beginning

**AN: So, I'm trying my hand at FanFiction once again. I don't exactly have a good run with completing my stories, but this one** _ **will**_ **be different. The cause? I have an outline. Albeit, an unfinished one, but I've got this outlined to chapter six. So, without further ado, I present to you the first installment of** _ **Tied Together…**_

The Village Hidden in the Leaves was quite a large city, despite its name. It was home to the Land of Fire's military force, led by a legendarily powerful individual known as the Hokage. Said Hokage was sitting behind a small wooden table in the Mission Assignment Building, staring at a peculiar blond preteen. The boy, Naruto Uzumaki, frowned even further than he had been before. His team, consisting of Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and led by Kakashi Hatake, was known as Team 7. The team, minus Kakashi, had recently been given their ranks of _genin,_ the lowest rank in the Leaf's military. As such, most missions they were assigned were menial, simple things, like mowing a lawn, painting a fence, or, most recently, catching a runaway cat. However, this just wouldn't work for Naruto.

" _No!_ No more stupid D-rank missions! I want a real mission, not some dumb house chores!" the blond shouted, pointing an accusatory finger in the direction of the Hokage. A man with a scar across his face, sitting next to the Hokage, one Iruka Umino, sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had been Naruto's teacher while he was learning the ways of a shinobi, and this kind of outburst was completely normal for the blond, but...

" _NARUTO!_ Show the Hokage some respect, you brat," Iruka shouted angrily. "You are a genin. A new one at that. Therefore, you will be assigned D-rank missions until your sensei deems you ready for something harder!"

Naruto wouldn't give up that easily, "But Iruka-sens-"

Iruka stood up, slamming his palms on the desk in front of him, scattering a few papers to the floor. "No 'buts', Naruto! This is for _your_ benefit, so that you can build the needed teamwork to tackle a harder mission."

However, it seemed Iruka just wouldn't have his way today as Kakashi stepped forward, his gravity-defying silver hair gleaming in the fluorescent light of the room. "Actually, I believe they're ready."

"Wh—what?!" the scarred man shouted, surprised. "They've only been ninja for a month now, Kakashi! They can't possibly-"

"Alright," the Hokage spoke, reaching for a scroll tucked into a bin with a 'C' label plastered on its front. Withdrawing the scroll, he unrolled it, briefly skimming over its contents before nodding and humming to himself in approval. "This should be simple enough. A C-Rank mission," he tossed the scroll to Kakashi before continuing. "It's an escort mission, so you should have no trouble handling this. That is, if you're as prepared as you think, Naruto?"

Naruto grinned foxily, giving the old man a thumbs up, "You bet, gramps!"

"Sakura, Sasuke?" the man's gaze fell to the other two genin now. Sakura nodded, a determined look on her face. Sasuke simply opted for a grunt of approval. "Very well then. Your job will be to protect the bridge builder, Tazuna as he makes his journey back to the Land of Waves. Once there, you will stay as body guards while he finishes construction of his bridge."

As if on cue, the door behind the genin slid open, allowing a tipsily drunk man to amble into the chamber. "Hey, Hokage," he hiccupped, "you got those escorts yet?"

The aforementioned Hokage nodded his affirmation, "Yes, Tazuna-san. That would be Team 7, here and ready for duty."

Tazuna shot a look at the three shinobi before sending an incredulous look at the Hokage. "How're three kids gonna help me finish my bridge? They don't look too strong, especially that short, stupid lookin' one."

"Hahahaha, who's the short stupid looking one?" Naruto exclaimed. However, much to his disappointment, his two teammates moved closer to him, highlighting the height difference between them. Realizing that he was at the receiving end of Tazuna's insult, Naruto made an attempt to rush forward and end the drunken man. Of course, Kakashi wouldn't allow this to happen, "Now now, Naruto," Kakashi chastised in an overly-jovial tone, holding Naruto's arm behind his back. "We don't want to kill our client, do we? Bad for business, and the like." Kakashi stepped forward, "Tazuna-san, as Team 7's leader, I can assure you that they are more than capable. Even with Naruto's… interesting personality."

Tazuna hesitantly nodded before sighing, and rubbing the back of his neck, "Well… alright, just meet me at the gates tomorrow at nine in the morning." Then the drunkard slowly ambled out of the room.

Naruto let out a growl of irritation, "I swear, that guy…"

A hand was placed on the Uzumaki's shoulder, "A client's a client, Naruto," Kakashi said, "Even if you don't like them, you have to deal with them. They _are_ your paycheck after all."

The blond genin simply pouted. _I know Kakashi-sensei's right, but…_ Reluctantly, he nodded his head. This was his chance to prove himself, his first C-Rank mission, and he wouldn't let his team down. So, he would deal with it, even if that meant swallowing his pride for the duration of the mission.

 **The next morning...**

Screw swallowing his pride. This was not happening. They had literally just left the gates of the village, setting out on the three day journey to Wave, and Tazuna was already grating on Naruto's nerves, adding super to his sentences wherever it would fit.. Of course, Sasuke's typical attitude didn't really help Naruto's overall mood, either. Stuck in his brooding, the blond failed to notice the two puddles they passed. Normally, puddles wouldn't really be of note, but the issue with these? It hadn't rained in weeks.

Kakashi seemingly noticed the discrepancy, his body stiffening slightly in preparation for the inevitable ambush. And then it came. Two shinobi, both with gas masks, and clawed gauntlets emerged from the water, before shooting a barbed chain out of their gauntlets, straight at Kakashi, entangling him in metal. Then, the chains pulled tightly, biting into Kakashi's flesh, shredding him.

" _Kakashi-sensei!"_ The chorused shout echoed, as the ninja rushed forward, toward the genin. A chain shot out of the other's gauntlet, flying straight towards Naruto, who could only stand in shock as his sensei's corpse fell to the ground. Before the barbed chain could make contact, however, Sasuke threw a volley of shuriken, catching a link of the chain, pinning it to the tree. "Naruto, get down!"

Naruto reflexively jumped backwards, but he wasn't quick enough. One of the claws on the gauntlet caught the back of his upheld hand, leaving a small laceration in its wake. Clutching his hand, the blond looked up in shock as he saw his sensei, behind both of the enemy ninja, holding a kunai to each of their throats.

One of the assailants made the mistake of trying to disarm Kakashi, only for him to receive a swift blow to the head, knocking him out cold. The jonin followed up on his counter with a roundhouse to the other's skull, send him into unconsciousness as well. Sighing, Kakashi clapped his hands together and turned to Tazuna, "Care to explain why the Demon Brothers of the Hidden Mist were after you, Tazuna-san?"

The man, who was decidedly more sober than he had been the day before stood there in slight shock at how easily Kakashi had dispatched the foes. "I, uh… I, well… You've heard of the business tycoon Gato, correct?" He received a nod form Kakashi, "Well, he's, ah… He's set up a base of operations of sorts in the Wave, where he does all sorts of dirty dealings. He's a major player in drug and slave trade, and he keeps our country tightly in his grasp. That's why I'm building the bridge, to connect us to the Land of Fire. It'll give us the economic freedom to resist Gato's controlling hand. He… doesn't want the bridge to reach completion, so he must've hired those missing ninja to take me out."

Kakashi's visible brow furrowed in irritation, "The presence of the ninja easily makes this mission B-Rank, maybe even lower A. We are _not_ prepared for a mission of this caliber, so, we will be forced to turn back and terminate this mission. Naruto needs medical attention, too."

For the first time since the fight, everyone's attention was on the blond. "Their claws were poisoned, Naruto. We need to drain the-"

Kakashi was cut off as Naruto took a kunai, digging it into the back of his hand widening the gash. More blood seeped out, carrying the toxins with it. "No. I can't turn back. I'm done running away! Kakashi-sensei, we can't let that guy have his way with the Wave anymore. We have to help!"

The silver-haired jonin gave one of his smiles, "Naruto, that's great and all, but if you lose any more blood, you could die." Immediately, Naruto let out a startled shout, clutching his wrist, desperately trying to stop the flow of blood. However, it proved unnecessary as the cut was already closing.

 _That must be an effect of the Fox…_ Kakashi thought sullenly. True to his thoughts, twelve years ago, when Naruto was born, a giant behemoth of a fox, known as the Kyūbi attacked the Leaf. It had claimed many lives before the Fourth Hokage managed to seal away the beast in a newly born baby. That child, was Naruto Uzumaki. Kakashi's frowned deepened as he tried to take his mind away from the dark topic, turning to Tazuna, "Alright, Tazuna-san. We'll continue the escort, and protect you on the bridge. However, you need to give us full disclosure from here on out. If Gato is already sending B-Rank missing ninja after you, then we can only expect it to get harder from here on out."

The older man nodded, before sighing, "I'm sorry I lied to you all. It's just, our country is so poor, we couldn't scrap together enough money to pay for anything above a C-Rank contract. That's why this bridge is so important, not just for me, but for my country as a whole."

Kakashi simply nodded, while Naruto stepped forward, punching his open palm with his other fist, a determined grin on his face. "Alright. Let's do this!"

 **There days later...**

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

A short pause.

"How about now?"

"Nope."

One more brief moment of silence.

"Now?"

Kakashi sighed. _This kid..._ "No, Naruto. Asking continuously isn't going to help us get there any faster," the sensei lectured, before stiffening slightly. Was it just him, or did that bush move a little too much to be the wind? Naruto seemed to catch this too, as he quickly let out a battle cry before flinging a kunai, straight at the bush. Only to see a rabbit jump out, fleeing from the flying metal.

While Naruto was whining over how he scared the 'poor bunny', but Kakashi was distracted by something else. That was a white rabbit, and it was the dead of summer. A substitution, most likely. Which would mean… " _Get down!_ " Kakashi shouted as he shoved Team 7 plus Tazuna backwards, jumping with them. A deep, maniacal laugh resonated through the air, cutting the genin to their core. The amount of killing intent expressed in that simple laugh was astounding, and it was enough to stall the team and Tazuna.

"Well, well, Kakashi Hatake, eh?" a voice, presumably belonging to the one who had laughed earlier. A figure dropped down from the tree directly in front of them. It was a man, carrying a massive cleave-like sword, with a Hidden Mist headband adorning his forehead, a scratch running through the emblem adorning its metallic surface. "This'll be fun…"

Kakashi's gaze darkened as he drew a kunai, mentally gauging his opponent's strengths and weaknesses. "Zabuza Momochi… Demon of the Hidden Mist."

Said 'demon' chuckled again, "So you know who I am, I'm honored." The swordsman brandished his weapon, a blood thirsty gaze adorning his features. "Enough talk."

Zabuza rushed forward at blinding speeds, rearing the sword back for a horizontal attack, but he wasn't fast enough, as Kakashi ducked under the swing before sending a couple jabs straight into Zabuza's stomach, sending him skidding backwards.

"Heh, you're good, Kakashi," Zabuza grinned under his bandaged mouth. "But you're not good _enough!_ " With a yell, he charged forward again, this time, slipping around Kakashi's guard, landing a solid slash on the jonin's upper arm.

 _This is going to be a complicated fight. I'm gonna have to use it._ Sighing, Kakashi reached up to his headband, uncovering his other eye. A scar ran down the man's eyelid. And behind that eyelid, was a Sharingan, the kekkai genkai of the Uchiha clan.

"Using the Sharingan already, Hatake? Am I too much for you to handle?" the swordsman taunted. At this comment, Sasuke's eyes widened. How could his sensei have the Sharingan? Only Uchiha can have that!

Kakashi locked eyes with the swordsman, the two not daring to make a move. Finally, the tension broke, and Zabuza held up a hand sign, calling out, "Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Almost instantly, fog rolled in, covering the landscape, and obscuring everyone's vision. Kakashi spared glances around him, before his ears finally honed in on footsteps. Ducking at the last possible second, Kakashi narrowly avoided the edge of the blade. Flipping backwards, the jonin started forming hand signs rapidly, before shouting, "Katon: Fire Ball!" Exhaling, a large sphere of flame shot out of his mouth. The inferno made contact with the swordsman, only for him to dissolve into water and steam.

 _A water clone?! Where—_ his thoughts were cut off as he felt a hand grabbing his shoulder. "Suiton: Water Prison!" Before Kakashi had a chance to react, he felt a sphere of water enveloping him, siphoning away his chakra. _I can't move!_

"Heheheh… I've got you beat, Kakashi! Is this all you've got?!" Zabuza taunted. "Here, let me provide you a front row seat to your brats' demise." The fog started to disperse, showing a water clone of Zabuza standing just a few feet away, his sword shouldered. Kakashi shot a glance towards his team and client, seeing the panicked look on their faces.

Zabuza slowly walked towards the group, laughing manically, swinging his sword as if he was playing some sort of screwed up game. Naruto took a step back as the swordsman drew ever closer, flinching as his back bumped into Sasuke. Turning around briefly, he made out a determined look on Sasuke's face, a hand on his kunai holster. If Sasuke was this confident…

Naruto elbowed Sasuke, "Hey, Teme, got a plan?" Truth be told, Naruto had some ideas, but for once, he wasn't eager to rush into them head first, as he would likely lose his head if he did.

"I have _one_ , Dobe." Almost silently, they rapidly discussed their plan of defense, Zabuza getting closer with each passing breath. Finally, when he was about ten feet away, Naruto let out a shout.

"Alright! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Instantly, twenty more Naruto's rushed the sword-bearing ninja. They weren't exactly landing any hits, but that was to be expected. Reaching into his pack, Sasuke pulled out a massive folded shuriken, flinging it at the hulking assassin. Zabuza simply laughed, raising his sword to block. His parry was successful, however, he didn't quite expect what happened next. Another shuriken was right behind the last one, and he had let his guard down!

With no time to react, the water clone was sliced in half, shifting back into lifeless water. The second shuriken continued onwards before making an unexpected turn, going right for the original Zabuza, who was still holding up the water prison. He had no choice but to dodge at the last minute, releasing Kakashi from his confinement. Then, the shuriken disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a smirking Naruto.

Kakashi grabbed the blond before pushing chakra to his legs, flipping backwards away from his assailant. Landing, he sent a glare up at the former Mist ninja. "I will _not_ allow you to hurt my comrades!" _No more holding back. I've gotta go all out on this one._ Seeing Zabuza forming the start of a jutsu, Kakashi did what the Sharingan did best. He copied it, mimicking it hand sign for hand sign.

"How are you-" Zabuza started to ask, but he wasn't able to finish.

"Reading your moves?" Kakashi said, completely deadpan. Zabuza simply let out a growl of frustration. This couldn't be happening. Just as he formed the last hand sign, Kakashi called out, "Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

A giant serpent of water rose out of the ground before shooting towards Zabuza at an insane velocity. The torrent hit the swordsman head on, sending him flying back through a tree. He lay there, on the ground, his back presumably broken. Kakashi walked over to the fallen enemy, ready to end it when Zabuza spoke. "Can… you see the future?"

Kakashi simply stared at him for a moment before replying, "Yes. I see your death." As he finished his statement two senbon came screaming past his head, lodging themselves in Zabuza's neck.

"Woah," Naruto breathed out in awe. "That was awesome, Kakashi-sensei"

Sasuke simply huffed, "Idiot. That wasn't Kakashi, it was someone else."

Naruto was about to make a protest when his sensei walked over, gazing into the distance. "Sasuke's correct. It looks as though a Mist hunter ninja has dealt with our little problem." The three others followed Kakashi's stare, and found themselves observing a kimono clad, masked ninja, a Mist emblem adorning the forehead.

The ninja, who seemed to be about the same height as Sasuke, jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully in front of them before the spoke. "Indeed. I'd like to thank you for distracting Momochi. I've been after him for quite a while, but I've never had the opportunity to strike."

Kakashi nodded as the masked ally walked over to the corpse of Zabuza, inspecting their work. Naruto peeked around Kakashi before hesitantly asking, "What's a hunter ninja, sensei?"

Kakashi spared a glance down at Naruto before ruffling his hair, much to the blond's ire. "A hunter ninja is someone who is tasked with hunting down crminals and missing nin or a village. They have to find and eliminate their charge so no village secrets can be lost."

The hunter ninja in question nodded, still pouring over Zabuza, "Your sensei is correct." There was a slight pause. "I must take care of him, so I bid you all farewell." Without pause for a reply, the ninja body-flickered away, leaving three stupefied genin, one impressed bridge builder, and one very suspicious Kakashi.

 **Tazuna's House, later that day...**

Naruto sat at the table in Tazuna's house. What his sensei had said just before they had arrived worried him. Kakashi believed that the hunter nin was actually an accomplice of Zabuza, who'd only put Zabuza in a near-death state. When Naruto had asked why he thought that, Kakashi explained that hunter nin were supposed to dispose of the body then and there, not taking it with them.

If that was the case, and Zabuza was still around, then he would have to get stronger. He'd never let himself be defeated by someone like Zabuza! Nodding to himself, Naruto finished off his meal before dismissing himself from the table. However, before he managed to leave the room, Tazuna's grandchild, Inari made himself know.

"You're all going to die," the boy said bleakly. It came out so abruptly that it took everyone a few seconds to recover. The Uzumaki was the first to utter a word.

"What…?" It came out almost like a growl. _Who is this brat to tell me that?_ The blond's fist clenched at his side.

Inari turned to face Naruto, standing from his chair as he did so. "I _said,_ you're going to die! No one can stand up to Gato and get away with it!"

Before anyone had a chance to react, Naruto's fist had collided with the top of the pessimistic kid's head, sending him face-first into the floor. Shouts of "Naruto!" were heard as Tsunami rushed over to her son, checking him for injuries.

"Listen here, kid," Naruto stood with his arms crossed in front of Inari. "I'm not gonna die. Not here. I don't _care_ what Gato thinks he can do, I _will_ live on to become Hokage, _dattebayo._ " Without giving anyone a chance to respond, Naruto stormed out of the room.

Kakashi chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, "I apologize for my student's outburst, Tazuna-san, Tsunami-san. I'll be sure to talk to him. He… had a pretty rough life growing up, so I guess it just irks him when people give up so easily." Without waiting for a response, Kakashi stepped out of the room, going up the staircase after Naruto. He eventually located the blond sitting on the roof of the building. Without saying a word, Kakashi simply opted to sit beside Naruto.

After a minute or two, Naruto broke the silence, his gaze moving from the stars above to his sensei's masked face. "Kaka-sensei… How come some people give up so _easily_? I don't get it."

Kakashi sighed, taking a moment to collect his thoughts before he responded. "I suppose it's a lot easier when they grew up as easily as I'm assuming he did. You might not have a wonderful life, by any stretch of the word, but your upbringing made you develop an unrelenting determination, which is amiably your best trait. When you have someone there who will love you and care for you, it's a lot easier to just… give up when things don't go well. When you're all alone, you have to fend for yourself more than is probably healthy."

Naruto's eyes widened. How did Kakashi know so much about this?

As if sensing the mental question from his student, Kakashi continued. "Like you, I lost my parents to something out of my control. I was young when it happened, maybe five or six. I came back from the academy one afternoon and found my father, dead. He'd committed suicide.

"I had to fend for myself from then on out. I was so mad at the world, and at myself for not being able to stop it from happening, and I poured all of that into my training and studies. That's how I became ANBU at the age of fifteen."

Naruto simply blinked, not sure what to say. Luckily for him, he didn't have to say anything. Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's back, "Get some sleep, Naruto. We'll need to be at our all for training tomorrow."

"Wait, training?" Naruto started to ask. His sensei simply opted to flash him a peace sign before body-flickering away. Despite their earlier talk, Naruto quickly reverted back to his old self, letting out a frustrated cry of, "Damn it, Kaka-sensei!"

 **The next day...**

 _So, this is what Kakashi-sensei meant by training,_ Naruto thought grudgingly, landing roughly on the ground after yet another failed attempt of climbing a tree with no hands. He was supposed to be focusing chakra to his feet to maintain attraction to the tree's surface, but it just wasn't working. The bark kept exploding and igniting under his feet, much to his distress.

"Naruto, you're still putting way to much chakra into it. Try lowering it some more," his sensei spoke the advice, while he reclined against a tree, casually reading his book.

"I'm trying, Kaka-sensei!" the blond Uzumaki shouted indignantly. And he really was trying. It just seemed impossible for him to lower his chakra output any further. _Damn it…_

Sasuke wasn't having much better luck, his maximum height just about a foot above Naruto's. Sakura on the other hand…

"This is fun, Kakashi-sensei!" the pink-haired girl shouted as she reached the top of her tree, _yet again._ She had mastered the exercise within ten minutes, and she wasn't afraid to flaunt it. Of course, Kakashi still had her doing it, to improve her control even further.

Said sensei gave one of his patented smiled, "Good! Keep it up, Sakura. Maybe you could show your teammates your technique?"

Sakura nodded, making her way down the tree before running over to Naruto and Sasuke, who were both lying on the ground, panting. She looked at her two teammates, her gaze lingering on Sasuke.

 _She's still obsessing..._ Kakashi thought sullenly, shaking his head. He'd have to fix that.

"Alright, Naruto, Sasuke-kun. You need to send small amounts of chakra to your feet, and expel it from them. This will take advantage of the natural attractive properties of chakra, and allow you to stick to the tree. What seems to be happening with both of you, is that you're both using too much chakra, which, while still holding its attractive traits, is so attractive that it rips the bark off the tree. So, start with the lowest you can get, and work your way up."

Kakashi gave a thumbs up, still reading his book, "Great explanation, Sakura. Naruto, Sasuke, think you can give it a try?"

Both boys had since gotten up and dusted themselves off. Sharing a determined, competitive look, the genin made a rush for their trees. Their feet made contact with the bark, this time, sticking more firmly than it had before. Another step was made. Then another. Two more. Six more. And then, with a startled yelp, Naruto lost his already flimsy control, plummeting to the ground. Still, that was more than double how high he'd managed last time.

Sasuke let out a slight laugh at his teammate's flop before finding himself being affected by gravity as well. With a pained grunt, he slammed into the ground.

"Nicely done, you two. That was a vast improvement," Kakashi praised before glancing at the horizon, seeing the sun slowly drifting down, painting a wonderful array of colors across the sky. "We should probably head back. Sun's setting."

Sakura nodded, and walked over to their sensei. However, Naruto and Sasuke weren't willing to leave just yet. "Not yet, Kaka-sensei. I've gotta beat Teme!"

Kakashi sighed. _These two… I swear their competitive nature is going to drive the so far… but I fear it may cause a lapse in teamwork as well…_ Shaking his head dismissively, he relented, "Alright. You two can stay here for two more hours. We'll see you back at Tazuna's." With that, he left.

Naruto and Sasuke spared another glance at each other before starting yet another determined run.

...

Two hours later, Naruto and Sasuke came through the doorway of Tazuna's home, panting, their bodies scratched and bruised from their numerous failed attempts. All things considered, they _had_ made good progress…

Tsunami was the first to notice them, "Hello, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun. How was training?"

Both of them shared a glance before something miraculous happened. They shared an open, whole-hearted _laugh._ It was a rarity to see Sasuke even smile, so this laugh was almost like a heavenly melody. And Naruto was the one who'd brought it out of the brooding preteen. Finally calming down, Naruto spoke up, "It was great, Tsunami-neechan!" The blond grinned foxily, giving her a thumbs-up. Sasuke simply nodded his confirmation, a smile still tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Tsunami smiled, "That's great! I just finished cooking, so you two were right on time. I already set food at both of your spots." As if on cue, both of the genins' stomachs growled loudly. They quickly rushed into the dining room snatching their seats. Breaking their chopsticks the two dug in.

"Mmm… that was delicious!" Naruto shouted happily, Tsunami simple smiled and thanked him.

Of course, this happy moment didn't last long. "Good thing you enjoyed it. Could be your last."

Naruto shot a glare at Inari, but he reigned in his emotions this time, simply opting for a curt response, "Why do you have to be such a pessimist, kid?"

Inari scoffed at him, turning his head to gaze out of the window. "I'm not being pessimistic. I'm being realistic."

The Uzumaki simply shook his head at the kid, muttering under his breath, "At least I'm not some big baby who cries about every little thing that could go wrong…"

Unintentionally, he'd spoken loudly enough for Inari to hear him. Instead of getting mad, however, the boy started sniffling, before running out of his room. Naruto looked down at his hands, not wanting to meet the glares of his teammates.

"Naruto, you idiot. Go tell him sorry," Sakura chastised, before finishing the last of her food. Sasuke gave a grunt of agreement. The blond looked to his sensei, to see his input, only to be met with a passive look that told Naruto exactly what he expected to happen. So, Naruto got up, and followed Inari up the stairs.

Rounding a corner, he found the kid in what he assumed was his bedroom. He was sitting by the window, holding a picture Naruto couldn't quite make out from that distance. He was whispering something to the image, and thanks to his hyper-sensitive hearing, Naruto could make out every syllable. "Why did you leave me, dad?" he sniffled. "I don't know what to do…! I want to be brave, but… I just, I-I don't…"

Reluctantly, Naruto made himself known. "Hey."

Inari let out a startled sound and whirled around, realizing who it was. "Wh-what do you want…?" The boy rubbed his nose on his sleeve.

Naruto slowly walked into the room before sitting next to him. He took a glance at the framed picture in Inari's lap. "Is that your father?"

The boy looked at him for a moment before looking back at the picture longingly, nodding slowly. "Yeah. He… wasn't my real dad, but… he was as close as I got. I never knew my real dad."

Images of Iruka and the Third Hokage flashed in Naruto's head. "I understand the feeling. I never had any parents growing up, not even a mom as nice as Tsunami-neechan. But I had my teacher, Iruka-sensei there for me. He was like an older brother to me. On top of that, I have gramps." At Inari's confused look, the blond elaborated. "That's what I call the Hokage. He's always helped me out when I was growing up."

There was a reluctant pause, as silence filled the room. Naruto finally spoke up, "I'm sorry Inari."

Inari simply nodded before letting out a sigh. "It's okay… I'm sorry I don't have any confidence in you. It's just, after what they did to my dad…"

Naruto looked at him expectantly, wanting to hear more. "What did they do?"

Inari shuddered. "He… he openly resisted Gato, and Gato decided to make an example of him. They executed him, in public… That's why I can't justify going against Gato, it's just too dangerous…"

Naruto frowned. He understood the kids reasoning, "I'm sorry to hear… but don't give up."

Inari looked at Naruto, his eyes wide. How could this genin sit here and tell him to 'not give up' when he lost his father because of that same attitude.

"When you give up, you're losing your chance to change things, for the better. That's why I've vowed to never give up. I made an oath on my blood that I would never run again, and I meant it, dattebayo."

Inari averted his gaze. There was something in Naruto's voice, some kind of _conviction._ It made him desire to believe what Naruto was saying, so badly. But… he just couldn't. So, instead of saying anything he simply nodded. Sighing, Naruto got up, stretching before walking towards the exit of the room. He hesitated at the door way, and hand on its frame, "Just keep that in mind, next time you have to make a tough choice. It could make the moment, or break it."

Little did Naruto know, a certain Fox was listening in as well...

 **AN: Well, thank you everyone for reading! This has been the first time I've written a chapter that broke the 5K word mark. If you enjoyed, please leave a review down below. If you want to see more, be sure to follow the story!**


	2. A Battle

**Thanks for all the feedback from the last chapter! It seems like most of you are at least interested, which means that I might have you hooked. A quick note: as this story is going on both AO3 and FFn, I won't be using the horizontal lines to divide text any more, as it doesn't appear when uploading the document. Either way, without further ado, I present to you chapter two of** ** _Tied Together…_**

 **-One week later—**

Training. That's what Naruto would say if you'd asked him what he'd managed to accomplish in the last week. _Training._ Their team had been doing nothing but practicing the tree-climbing exercise, refining their ability in it. Just last night, even, Naruto and Sasuke had finally reached the top of their trees. At the same exact time.

Kakashi smiled as he munched on a rice ball, sitting on the roof of Tazuna's house. The sun had yet to rise, but it was close enough to doing so that the landscape was fairly visible. He was proud of his team. They'd made huge strides in the past week. Were they ready to take on Zabuza?

No, not by any means. But were they more prepared for the challenge ahead? Yes. He could confidently say they were. Finishing off his breakfast, the jonin dusted off his hands before donning his mask once again, silently re-entering the dwelling through the ajar window. He made his way to the spare room they had been provided and slid the door open, giving an eye-smile as he said, "Rise and shine, my little genin!"

He was met with a soft grunt from Sasuke as he sat up, a yawn from Sakura, and a disgruntled mumble from Naruto.

"Breakfast is in five minutes, then we're heading to the bridge with Tazuna. If you're not up, then we'll leave without you." This last part seemed to be directed at the blond.

He proceeded to make his way downstairs to see Tazuna standing by the sink, nursing a cup of coffee. "Good morning, Tazuna-san."

Tazuna nodded in his direction, taking another swig of the black liquid before replying, "You too, Kakashi."

The two sat in companionable silence as they waited for the genin to arrive. Sasuke filed in, with Sakura only five steps behind him. Now all they were missing was a particular blond Jinchūriki. After waiting for a few more minutes with no arrival of the blond, they departed.

 **-Two hours later—**

Naruto blinked the sleep out of his eyes slowly. Sunlight was streaming in through the window. Wait… the sun was that high already? _I thought that… oh…_ Naruto was up and fully dressed in milliseconds, rushing out the door of the bedroom, skidding down the staircase. As he rounded the corner into the kitchen he was forced to stop. _Wasn't there supposed to be a wall here?_

True to Naruto's thoughts, fragmented wood pieces were strewn about the floor; they were clearly the remains of what had been the front wall. Rushing outside, fearing the worst, Naruto made his way down the dock just outside of Tazuna's house, seeing Inari stand up to two swordsman, Tsunami tied up and gagged behind them.

"Let my mom go!" Inari yelled with a charge, clenching his fist and rearing his arm back. Before the kid could meet his end by blade, however, Naruto jumped in front of him, kunai meeting katana, the clang of tempered steel resonating through the air, sparks falling from the friction.

"Inari!" Naruto shouted, risking a glance back.

"Naruto-niichan!" the boy's eyes were wide with fear and a hint of awe.

"Heh. The hero always arrives just in time…" Naruto grinned, kicking the first swordsman back, his partner sending a glare at Naruto and Inari. "Get your mom out of here! I'll handle these guys, _dattebayo!_ "

Inari just stood there for a moment before he managed a determined nod. The kid proceeded to dash towards the swordsman, weaving around them. The taller katana-wielder made a turn to focus his attention on Inari, raising his sword for a strike. Big mistake.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Two Naruto's rushed the tall one, the first kicking the weapon out of the man's grasp. The second clone followed up with a heavy punch to the back of his skull, knocking the man into the water, unconscious. The other let out a growl of frustration, seeing his partner get dispatched so easily. He brandished his sword, slicing at another Naruto, this one disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Inari had managed to get to his mother, and was in the process of untying her. He had to move fast. He couldn't let Naruto down!

Said blond had made three more clones, sending them charging into the swordsman's blade. He failed to notice the real Naruto behind him. "Hey, jack ass!"

The man whirled around, but he wasn't fast enough, as the roundhouse made contact with his skull, sending him to the ground. Naruto dispelled his remaining clones, panting from exertion. He gave Inari a thumbs up before dashing off without another word.

 **-Meanwhile…-**

Sasuke and Sakura sat next to the bridge builder as he supervised the workers. The past two hours had thus far been uneventful, so they opted to stay by Tazuna as he directed and oversaw the construction of the bridge. If something went bad quickly, it'd be strategically advantageous for their location to be as close to their charge as possible. Of course, this was _Sasuke's_ reasoning. Sakura seemed to just be following the Uchiha around, as per usual.

Kakashi sighed, his gaze shifting back to his perverted book. _I really hope they learn that teamwork is more important than_ anything. _And I hope it happens sometime soon._ As he contemplated his team's inner dynamics, he picked up on a faint scent of the ocean, mixed with the smell of curing concrete. But something else was present. A barely-present odor of dried blood.

Under normal circumstances, this could be expected of a construction site, as accidents can and _do_ happen. However, these weren't normal circumstances. He could say with almost one-hundred percent certainty that Zabuza was here, or would be here soon.

He made a beckoning hand-motion to the two present members of Team 7. Sakura trotted over, Sasuke opting to walk. "Yes, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

The jonin sighed as he put away his book. "Don't be alarmed, but I believe Zabuza is close by." Sakura's eyes widened visibly, her body tensing; Sasuke showed no visible reaction. "Be prepared for anything. Sakura, I want you to guard Tazuna. Sasuke, stay with Sakura unless that hunter nin comes back. Split off, and keep them away from Sakura and Tazuna. Am I clear?"

Sasuke gave a grunt of agreement, whilst Sakura nodded her head.

"Alright, get in position. He'll be arriving in the next minute." True to Kakashi's word, the unmistakable mist of Zabuza's jutsu rolled in, coating the bridge. A few confused shouts were heard from the workers, and Tazuna paled in realization. A sharp, deep laugh sliced through the air. It was that same maniacal laugh from a week ago.

 **-Meanwhile…-**

Naruto let out a shout of frustration, dashing through the forest. "I've got to get to the bridge!" Naruto had managed to conclude that Zabuza must be on the verge of attacking, shortly after he'd dispatched the two swordsmen from before. That meant his teammates could be in danger.

 **-Back on the bridge…-**

Kakashi locked eyes with Zabuza, his headband already tilted up, showing his Sharingan. The mist wasn't as thick as it had been before, but it was still thick enough prevent him from seeing his team's charge. He just hoped that Sasuke and Sakura would follow his instructions.

Not wasting any time, the jonin of the Leaf rushed forward, a kunai in hand. Zabuza mimicked his actions, drawing his massive sword before charging Kakashi. The two met in the middle, a vibrant shower of sparks flying from the colliding metal. They both narrowed their eyes. Zabuza was the first to break the silence.

"I see you were expecting me."

Kakashi frowned before jumping back from Zabuza, whose blade was slowly overpowering his own. "Your accomplice made it too obvious. Hunter nin are supposed to dispose of the body, then and there, not take it with them," Kakashi gave the swordsman no chance to reply, rapidly going through hand signs in a way so fluid it could only be achieved by years of practice and battle-earned experience. Ending on the sign of the Tiger, the jonin reared his head back, shouting, " _Katon: Fireball!_ "

A massive plume of flame shot from the jonin's mouth, hurtling towards Zabuza. The 'Demon' had enough time to narrowly dodge, a lick of flame catching his left hand. He sneered, "You think I'd fall for the same trick twice?"

Kakashi surprisingly grinned, "Of course not." Before the enemy had a chance to react, a shadow clone of Kakashi was right behind him. " _Suiton: Raging Torrent!_ "

A river of water rose out of the ocean, sweeping across the bridge before colliding with Zabuza, swiftly carrying the ninja into a stack of metal girders. However, at the last possible second, he managed a substitution, replacing himself with a concrete blockade, which shattered upon impact. Not wasting any time, the missing ninja sprinted at Kakashi, raising his blade. Kakashi barely had enough time to raise a kunai in defense.

 _I can't keep doing this. Kunai work for holding him off, but I need to find some way to separate him from that damn sword._

Sasuke and Sakura were having their own quarrel with the swordsman's partner. Sasuke had tried splitting off, but the enemy ninja was blocking their every movement. Realizing that he didn't have much of a choice, Sasuke formed the needed hand signs for his jutsu of choice. " _Katon: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"_

Five miniature fireballs flew from Sasuke's mouth, forcing the masked enemy to retreat. Sasuke took this opening, rushing after the ninja. _This is my chance_. As he rocketed towards the enemy, he weaved around senbon, before landing a solid punch to the masked person's chest, sending them sliding backwards.

"You've forced my hand… I apologize," the hunter said before performing the signs for a jutsu. " _Hyoton: Demonic Ice Mirrors!_ " Ice began to materialize around Sasuke from thin air, forming a perfect mirror. Looking around him, he saw more and more appearing. Before he could make an attempt to run, he was fully locked in. It was too late. He saw the masked shinobi appearing in the mirror in front of him. Then, the one next to it. And the next. One by one, the mirrors became filled with duplicate images of the enemy.

Then the senbon went flying. Sasuke made an attempt to dodge, but it was almost like his moves were predicted and accounted for. Three senbon hit him in the leg, sending him to the ground. _Damn it!_

" _SASUKE!_ " Was that… Naruto? Yes, yes it was. The blond idiot was dashing straight towards the downed Uchiha. Desperately, Sasuke tried to get the blond to stay outside of the dome of ice, but he simply kept running straight for him. "Sasuke! What happened?"

Sasuke grunted as he slowly got back on his feet, pulling the needles out. "Naruto, you _idiot!_ Why didn't you stay outside?!"

Naruto's face fell as he glared at his teammate. "How the hell was I supposed to know that you wanted me to stay out there? I wanted to help you-tebayo!"

Sasuke grimaced before looking back at the figure in the mirrors. "Whatever, Dobe. If you're stuck in here, at least make yourself useful…" he growled out. The blond simply grinned, putting his fingers the sign for his signature technique.

" _Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ " Instantly, twenty Naruto's popped into existence. With a collective roar, they all rushed the mirrors. Punches and kicks connected, but it proved to be too weak to defeat the ice. One by one, the shadow clones were dispelled by well placed senbon, some needles even passing completely through on, only to take out another.

"That won't work… He's too accurate with those senbon," Sasuke muttered. This wasn't looking good. Frowning, he flashed through hand signs. " _Katon: Fire Ball!_ " A ball of inferno was born sent straight to the mirrors. It impacted in a virulent display of flames, obscuring their vision of the prison. When the smoke faded, however, what greeted them amazed them. The ice was still there. "What?!"

Getting over his shock, Sasuke shoved Naruto down as he jumped out of the way of more airborne needles. Wait…

…Had he just dodged those? Surely enough, he had. The needles clattered to the ground after rebounding off another mirror. Looking up again, Sasuke noticed something… different. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. His mind was able to process and calculate every aspect of the senbon, from their trajectory, impact vectors, _everything._ Grinning, Sasuke elegantly slid out of the way of more needles.

"How…?" the ninja in the mirror seemed just as startled as Naruto was. After a brief moment, he seemed to get over the shock, though. "It does not matter. This will end, sooner or later. Your attempts will only delay the inevitable."

Immediately, every single mirror showed the hunter raising a handful of senbon. Then, he threw. This time, even the Sharingan couldn't save Sasuke. They were coming from literally every direction. He had only one option. He dove for cover.

" _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ " Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked up to see himself surrounded by Naruto's. Quickly, the clones popped, leaving the real Naruto behind. He was standing just over Sasuke, blood dripping down the corner of his mouth. Needles covered the back of his body, so many that he almost looked like a porcupine.

"Wh—why?" Sasuke stuttered out. "Why wouldn't you let me take that hit?!"

Naruto let a sad smile adorn his face. "Why? Because you would've died. Heroes can't let their comrades die." Sasuke stared up at the blond, a look sheer stupefied shock covering his face. Before he had the chance to respond, the blond's eyes closed, his body dropping like a rock. _Lifeless…_

 _Drip…_

 _Drip…_

 _Drip…_

Naruto's eyes fluttered open. _Where the hell am I?_ He slowly lifted himself up, glancing around. He was in some kind of sewer… or something? _What is this place?_ Pipes ran along the ceiling. Some were thick red ones, while others were narrower, a yellow tinge to them. The walls were concrete, some had holes shoddily patched with sheet metal.

Not knowing what else to do, the genin started walking. He didn't know where to go, so he just kept going straight. Surely, that would get him somewhere, right?

After what seemed like over an hour of walking, Naruto noticed the halls were getting wider. The farther he went, the wider the walls became. Finally, they opened to a massive chamber, the ceiling so high, Naruto couldn't even see it. But that wasn't what was concerning the blond. It was the giant metal gate at the end of the room that worried him. The kanji for 'seal' resided on a slip of paper where the doors met, seemingly holding them together.

"This… this is the Nine-Tails' seal…" Naruto muttered aloud, walking forward slowly and cautiously. When a voice answered his comment, the genin nearly shit himself.

 **"Indeed it is…"**

"You…!" Naruto shouted after recollecting himself. A sharp, deep laugh responded to his comment. "Why am I here? What do you want?"

 **"Why are you here? Either you're in some kind of severe danger, or you just wanted to 'chat', which I highly doubt."** The Beast stepped forward into the light of the chamber, the light glinting off its orange fur. **"I want you to survive. If you die, so do I… This isn't something I'm willing to accept."**

Naruto recoiled at this comment. "Wait… I'm gonna die?"

The Fox growled impatiently. **"That's what I just said, is it not? Look, brat. You're in danger, and you need my help. I refuse to die here, just because my** ** _damn container_** **was not capable of staying alive!"**

"I see…" Naruto mumbled, looking down. "Well, I don't give a _damn._ You say you want to keep me alive. How the hell can I guarantee that you won't just kill me when it's over with?"

 **"If I had wanted to end your puny life, I would've the day you were born!"** the Fox shouted, before recoiling, a shocked expression on its face. **_Shit…_**

Naruto blinked, his jaw dropped. "Wh… what?" he breathed out. "What do you mean?"

The Tailed Beast sighed. **"Do you not think I was unaware of your birth? The second that damned Fourth chose you to be my** ** _pitiful container—_** **"**

"I have a name," the blond said resolutely, stepping forward, his thumb to his chest. "It's Naruto Uzu-fucking-maki! I'm not just some stupid container for you, you bastard!"

The Nine-Tails frowned at this. **"You think I should care?"** he roared. **"You damn humans are all the same! You only want to lock us away, and use** ** _us_** **to fight your pointless wars! Not once has your kind ever given a** ** _damn_** **about** ** _our_** **names, so why should I care about you, you impudent little brat?!"**

Naruto's eyes widened in realization. Was that really how the Bijū felt? If that was the case, then… "Then tell me your name."

The Fox's eyes widened in surprise. **"What…?"**

"I asked for your name. You said no one's ever cared what your name was, that you were just used as a weapon. That's… not right. I know how painful it is to be alone, no one seeing the real you… just something you're not."

As quickly as it had come, the Nine-Tails' surprise vanished, replaced with anger. **"Are you suggesting that I** ** _desire_** **attention from your kind? That I seek some form of acknowledgement?"** Surprisingly, Naruto nodded. **"That's laughable. I have no want to associate with your race, brat…"**

Naruto simply stood there for a moment, before responding. "That might be true. But I know that you, that _everyone_ wants _someone_ that gives a shit about them."

The Fox's frown deepened, but his look shifted from on of anger, to a thoughtful one, almost as if he was contemplating something. Finally, he broke the silence. **"Kurama,"** he spoke, his tone calm for the first time. **"My name is Kurama."**

"That's… a nice name," Naruto grinned.

 **"We'll save the talking for later. Time passes slowly while you're in here, but that Uchiha you have as a teammate believes you to be dead. He's locked up in shock."** Kurama spoke before he let out a small burst of chakra. It gathered in a small pool, just inches in front of Naruto's face. **"Take this portion of my chakra. Save yourself, and your teammate."**

Naruto nodded, stepping into the vermillion energy, his body taking it in.

 **"Kick their ass, Naruto,"** the Fox grinned.

"You got it, Kurama!"

 **-In the real world-**

Naruto's eyes fluttered open, the Nine-Tails', no, _Kurama's_ chakra flooding his system, sending the senbon embedded in his back shooting outwards. With a roar, Naruto rose to his feet, red chakra surrounding his body, cracking the concrete beneath him.

"What… what is this _evil_ chakra?!" the Hunter nin stepped back, an arm reflexively blocking the wind that was being thrown out by the tornado of raw power. Sasuke wasn't fairing much better, the chakra almost sending him into unconsciousness.

The chakra continued to wrap around Naruto, his whisker marks getting thicker, nails forming claws, as his eyes became red with slit pupils like that of the Fox he held captive. "I'll never allow you to hurt my friends!" he shouted, rushing forward, his clawed fist impacting with the ice.

It shattered to pieces.

The hunter came stumbling backwards, shock still on their features as they attempted to regain composure. Naruto didn't give them the chance, another punch colliding with their mask, shattering it to pieces. His fist went back for another punch, but he halted half-way there. _This guy… I saw him in the forest when I was training…!_

 **-Three days ago—**

Naruto panted as he made another run at a tree, getting up just one step farther before slamming to the ground. He'd been doing this for hours on end, and it was getting dark. He'd need to head back soon, but first…

"If you keep doing that, you're going to hurt yourself," a voice called out.

Naruto turned his head in the direction of the sound, startled slightly when he saw a girl, picking herbs from the forest, placing them in a basket. "Who are you?"

The girl smiled before responding, "My name is Haku Yuki. What might I call you?"

Naruto grinned, giving Haku a thumbs up. 'I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm training, _dattebayo!_ "

"Oh?" Haku perked up at this, "So you're a ninja, huh?"

Naruto nodded, before they settled into a companionable silence. Eventually, the blond's eyes drifted to the basket lying next to Haku. "What'cha got there, miss?"

Haku chuckled slightly, "Just some herbs. I use them to make medicines and teas," she paused for a brief moment before her features became serious. "Tell me, Naruto. Do you have someone precious to you?"

The blond simply looked at her, a confused look plastering his face. "What do you mean?"

"When we have someone precious to us that we must protect, that is when we become truly strong."

Naruto wasn't sure what to say, so he just opted to stare dumbly for a moment before Haku stood, picking up the basket. Walking away, she turned around. "By the way? I'm a boy."

 **-Present time-**

Haku simply stood there, waiting for the inevitable hit. "Why do you hesitate? I nearly killed you."

A single tear fell down Naruto's feral face. "How could you?!"

The hunter ninja lowered his gaze. "Do you remember what I told you? About having a precious person?" Naruto slowly nodded. "I desire to protect Zabuza-sama. He… saved me. I will forever be indebted to him."

"That's _bullshit_!" the Jinchūriki shouted, Kurama's chakra flaring as he waved his arm for emphasis. "If Zabuza really cared about you, he wouldn't make you go down this path!"

"No…" Haku shook his head. "I am nothing but a tool for Zabuza-sama. My dream is to help him accomplish his."

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Zabuza's fight was drawing to a close. Both ninja were exhausted, and on the edge of their chakra reserves. A look of determination crossed Kakashi's face as he gripped his right wrist. "It's time to end this! _Chidori!_ "

The sound of a thousand birds echoed through the air as lightning crackled to life in Kakashi's hand. His gaze met Zabuza's before he took off at a breakneck pace. Thrusting his hand forward, the jonin's attack impaled itself into flesh. However, it wasn't the intended target who took the attack.

" _HAKU!_ " he heard Naruto shout from his left. The blond came rushing over. Stopping just meters away at a glare from his sensei, Naruto still had a look of pure shock on his face. The shock only intensified as Zabuza reared his blade back.

 _He's gonna go straight through the kid to get to me!_ Kakashi thought, eyes widening. Jumping backwards at the last second, he landed about ten feet away, gently lying Haku's body down, before he stood, fixing Zabuza with a calculating glare. "Zabuza. You're still human. You hesitated to go through the kid. Think this through."

Zabuza just let out a growl and charged Kakashi recklessly, his arm rearing back for a swipe of his blade. "You have no _idea_ what you're talking about! Haku was nothing more than a tool to me. And when tools break, what use do they have? They're _meant_ to be thrown away, disposed of!"

Kakashi shook his head, drawing a kunai and meeting Zabuza's charge halfway. The two blades collided before Kakashi's managed to slip past Zabuza's guard. The knife impaled itself in the swordsman's upper arm, severing the tendons.

Letting out a startled shout, the swordsman dropped his weapon. Kakashi was prepared to end it with one more blow, but he was stopped by a curt laugh. "Ha. Looks like you've done my job for me."

A short, overweight man walked up to them, a huge group of guerilla mercs behind him. Zabuza turned to glare at the man. "Gato… I had a feeling you might betray me like this."

The man laughed again, stepping closer. He stopped as he reached Haku's fallen body. "Hm, what do we have here?" He jabbed a rough kick to Haku's side. Naruto made a rush forward, only for his jacket to be grabbed by Kakashi. "Good to see this brat has met his end. This is for breaking my arm!" The man raised his foot, preparing to bring it down on Haku's head. Surprisingly, it wasn't Naruto's killing intent that stopped him. It was Zabuza's.

"Don't _touch_ him," it came out as a low growl, the bandages around the swordsman's face falling to the ground, revealing his sharp teeth. "Hey, brat, give me a kunai."

Naruto quickly realized that Zabuza was talking to him. Nodding, he reached into his holster, handing the man a kunai. Gripping the blade between his teeth, he charged forward.

Gato's eyes widened as he turned, running through the crowd of mercs, who were in the process of readying their weapons to stop the charging 'demon'. "Kill him, and those ninja too!"

Their efforts were in vain, even when they landing hits, embedding swords into Zabuza's bodies. Nothing could stop the sheer rage that was coursing through Zabuza. One by one, the mercs fell to his blade. Panicked yelling and blood-curdling screams of pain were heard from miles away as the swordsman dispatched a line all the way through them, headed straight for Gato. The man continued to back up until he could go no farther without plummeting into the ocean below. "He-hey! I'll pay you, I swear! Just let me go!" the fat man shouted, holding his hands up, desperately hoping the crazed swordsman would accept the money and let him live. Luck was not in his favor today.

"Coward…" Zabuza growled out vehemently, charging forward. The knife he gripped in his mouth was plunged into Gato's neck, killing him almost instantly. The swordsman released the knife, letting it fall into the ocean below, taking the drug-lord with it.

The remaining mercenaries stared on in shock. One finally had the nerve to step forward, shouting, "You killed our meal ticket! You bastard!" The one who was the first to speak was also the first to be dropped by a steel ball, fired from a slingshot somewhere behind him.

"Get off of our bridge!" Inari shouted. He stood behind the mercs, with a small civilian militia behind him, all brandishing makeshift weapons. Some of the mercs considered staying and fighting, but they quickly realized the foolishness behind that course of action, as they were outnumbered at least two to one. The only logical thing they could do at this point was flee, and that's exactly what they did.

 **-Later that night.-**

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi all sat out on a bluff overlooking the gentle ocean. In front of them, rested a tombstone, marking the burial of Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki. Haku's split mask lie on his grave, with Zabuza's blade on his own.

"Why'd they have to die, Kaka-sensei?" Naruto asked, looking forlornly at the setting sun. The swordsman had died shortly after Gato had been taken out, but he got to say his goodbyes before he left the world.

The silver-haired jonin sighed. "It's a part of living this life of a shinobi. One day, you'll meet your end. We must willingly acknowledge that our profession greatly increases our chances of dying, every single second. Whether it will be by blade, poison, or even old age, we'll never know until our end ultimately decides to introduce itself to us."

Naruto frowned contemplatively. _I understand what Kakashi-sensei is saying… but…_ "That's stupid…"

Kakashi gave his student a long look, seemingly asking for elaboration.

"If that's what being a shinobi really means, then… Then I vow to never let another friend fall like this. They deserved better…"

 _Just like his father…_ Kakashi thought to himself. "That's a very ambitious promise, Naruto. But… I have faith in your ability to keep it." The jonin paused, looking into the clouds. _Zabuza… Haku… You two left a lasting impression on my student. You helped him realize just what his world will be like. For that, I thank you._

 **Author's Notes:**

 **This one took a fair bit longer than I had initially expected it too. Mostly, it was wrapping things up that seemed to take the longest. However, it's done now, and I'm happy to present it to you all. Thanks for reading. Next time, Naruto an Kurama will have an interesting talk!**


	3. A Contract

**-Chapter 3: A Contract—**

Kakashi sighed as he looked around the room at his sleeping team. The fight on the bridge had occurred two days ago, but they were still recovering from the massive amounts of exertion they faced. Naruto seemed to be in the worst state.

When he'd felt the burst of demonic chakra on the bridge, he'd almost panicked. The seal wasn't supposed to slip so easily, so something _big_ must've happened to cause even that tiny amount of chakra to slip through. After the fact, Naruto had returned to normal, as far as Kakashi could tell. He didn't show any signs of influence from the Kyūbi, but that didn't mean Kakashi had let his guard down. Still, the blond had been incredibly tired the past two days, barely ever leaving the room. It was probably caused by using the Bijū's energy for the first time; the jonin could only imagine what kind of toll that must take on one's body.

Either way, he was just glad the team had made it out of that battle victorious. Sasuke had even unlocked his Sharingan, so that was a rather huge plus. Sakura had managed to stay close to Tazuna, but other than that, not much happened on her front. _I really need to find some way to get through to her…_

Perhaps the Chunin Exams that were slated to occur in a few months would be beneficial to them all. Yes, they had just graduated, but to be able to fend of an A-Ranked criminal and his accomplice on your first C-Rank mission was quite the feat. On top of that, the Chunin Exams would help them realize the incredible value of teamwork. That's something he just couldn't stress enough.

Nodding his head to himself, the jonin finally closed his book, allowing himself to slip into a light doze. After all, you could never be too cautious.

 **-Naruto's Mindscape—**

Naruto Uzumaki could easily label this week the most interesting and exciting week of his life thus far. He'd met Kurama, earned a smidgen of his respect, saved a teammate (even if it was Sasuke…), and so much more. However, Naruto could really care less about what had happened earlier, as he found himself in the Nine-Tails' seal yet again. Said Fox shot the blond a lazy look, his head resting on his forearms.

 **"We meet again, brat,"** Kurama's voice echoed through the chamber. He didn't necessarily seem _angry_ , just… impatient.

Naruto simply nodded to the Fox. "So, what'd you want to talk to me about?"

Letting out a huff, Kurama moved into a sitting position in front of the bars. **"It's simple really. I wanted to discuss a form of…** ** _contract_** **with you, per se."** The Fox paused when Naruto gained a contemplative look. **"Before you ask a stupid question, I do not expect you to sign without knowing the full terms of the contract. That should put all of your qualms aside."**

Naruto nodded, still thinking. You could almost see the gears turning in the blond's head. "Okay… but how can I know you'll honor the contract?"

To his surprise, the vulpine grinned. **"I was expecting that question,"** he replied. **"The contract I have in mind isn't necessarily a contract, exactly. It's a blood oath, a form of promise that must be upheld by both parties to the best of their abilities. If one party backs out on the oath, they die. Then and there."**

Naruto nodded again, this time a slight grin on his face. "Okay then!"

Kurama had a brief moment of surprise, but he quickly hid it. **_This brat is way to easy to convince…_** **"My terms are simple. I will give you full access to my chakra and abilities. In exchange, you promise me my freedom after your death, which I will ensure will come of old age, and you allow me to kill one man."**

Naruto frowned, "Who are you talking about, exactly?"

 **"Madara Uchiha,"** the name came out with a venomous snarl, a look of sheer rage and hatred adorning the Fox's face. **"So long as you let me end his** ** _wretched_** **existence, I will be more than happy to assist you."**

"But who, _exactly,_ is Madara? I thought Sasuke was the last Uchiha…" the blond asked, a confused look on his face.

 **"Madara is the reason I attacked Konoha twelve years ago,"** the Kyūbi growled. **"I wanted nothing to do with your village, or your kind at all, but he took control of me with that** ** _disgusting_** **Sharingan of his, and forced me to attack your home. When his control finally ended, I was so** ** _infuriated_** **that I continued the attack. Admittedly, that likely wasn't the best course of action, but…"**

"So, you want to get the guy who made you attack the Leaf?"

Kurama let an exasperated sigh escape his lungs. **_Is that seriously all the brat managed to garner from that?_** **"Yes."**

Naruto stood still for a moment, glancing towards the ceiling, rubbing his chin in thought. "Well, if that's all you want…" he hesitated for a moment, "I'll accept on one condition. After you're free, you promise to never attack the Leaf again."

Kurama didn't even hesitate. **"Done."**

Naruto nodded. "You know, Kurama… You don't seem that bad, dattebayo."

The Fox stared at the blond for a moment. **_I think that's the first time a human's complimented me… if you can call that a compliment._** Quickly, Kurama tried to think of something to say. **"The same could be said of you, Naruto."**

After the awkward exchange of compliments, the two began working on the fine details of the agreement, before they wrote it out in blood on a scroll Naruto conjured. Kurama pricked his thumb with one of his claws and signed his name, Naruto placing his signature next to his.

 **九喇嘛**

 **うずまきナルト**

 **-And with that, a partnership was born—**

 **AN: I know this one is short as hell, but this is honestly meant to be more filler than anything else. That doesn't mean it's not important, as this is the birth of what makes Naruto and Kurama's relationship progress further. Naruto has begun to understand why the Kyūbi really attacked, and Kurama is beginning to like Naruto just a little bit more. Next chapter will cover the journey back to the Leaf, in addition to a few other things that I won't divulge to keep this spoiler free.**


	4. A Return

**EDIT: Getting real tired of yer' shit, FFn. I've uploaded this document THREE TIMES. All because FFn keeps dropping formatting. Which is pissing me off. Oh well.**

 **There are a few questions that have come to my attention as of late, so I'd like to clear those up.**

 **Will you be exploring Naruto and Kurama's bond more? What can we expect?  
** Yes, I most definitely will be exploring those two's interactions further. They're some of the most fun characters to write, and Kurama will play a _HUGE_ role. One thing to keep in mind, however; While Naruto and Kurama will most certainly grow close, to the point of trusting each other explicitly, their personalities will remain similar to canon. I just can't picture Kurama cracking jokes, and being the jovial type like he is in similar fanfiction. In addition, Naruto's happy attitude, positive outlook, and overall demeanor will remain the same.

 **What kind of update schedule can we expect? How long will this story be?  
** I'll try to update as often as I can, but being a senior, my schedule can be hectic. The story should be at least 250,000 words plus.

 **I have ideas for the story. Are you interested in hearing them?  
** Yes! I'd love to hear both feedback and ideas. I can't guarantee that your ideas will make it into the story, but they are definitely appreciated and listened to.

 **-Chapter 4: A Return—**

Naruto woke to the smell of breakfast wafting into the guest room of Tazuna's house. It'd finally been a week since they'd had their battle on the bridge, and if everything checked out, they'd be heading back to Konoha today.

Sitting up, the blond let out a yawn, stretching his arms. Sakura was pulling on her sandals, and Sasuke was heading out the door.

"Oh, you're up," a voice called to his left. "Good. We're heading out today, so pack your things, and head down for breakfast."

Naruto nodded groggily, before getting dressed and heading downstairs. Breakfast was calm, and surprisingly pleasant after the hectic times from last week. Inari finally opted to speak up.

"So… you guys are leaving today?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yep. We've got to head back to the Leaf and turn in our mission report."

Inari looked down at his food, sullenly. "Oh…" Despite it only being a week, Inari had grown close to Team 7, especially Naruto. It was saddening that his friends had to leave. "Well… have a safe journey back."

After assurances from everyone that they'd be fine, and finishing their meal, Team 7 finally departed. Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari walked them to the bridge, which had been dubbed 'The Great Naruto Bridge', in honor of the blond who helped lift the island nation's hopes. "I just wanted to thank you," Tazuna started. "All of you. If it weren't for your efforts, I'd likely be dead, and our country's economy would've never recovered."

Kakashi nodded, rubbing the back of his head in a jovial manner. "It was no problem really. It helped my little genin grow up a little."

Naruto and Sasuke both shot irritated looks at their sensei's comment. Naruto's irritation was rather short-lived, though. "I'm just glad we could help, dattebayo!"

Later, they found themselves camped out a kilometer from the road. They'd made good progress in the day, and if it kept up like this, they'd be back by tomorrow evening. Kakashi was standing guard, his three genin sleeping soundly by the light of the fire. Well, two of the three, anyway.

Naruto was lying awake in his sleeping bag, staring at the dim stars scattered throughout the night sky. He had a lot on his mind, and he really wanted to talk to someone about it, but he wasn't sure who. He'd tried speaking with Kurama, but the Fox had dismissed the blond's 'trivial matters' after ranting at him about how they were – by no means – 'friends'. Naruto had tried to protest, but the Nine-Tails would have none of it. So, now he remained awake, his mind swirling through thousands of thoughts. The main thing that was bothering him though, had to do with Kurama, and the damn Bijū refused to talk to him.

Kakashi seemingly noticed that his most hyperactive team member was still awake. Sighing, he decided to speak up, softly, as to not wake the others. "Something on your mind, Naruto? You can talk to me, if you want."

Grunting, Naruto sat up in his bed roll. "I've just been thinking about everything that happened on the bridge. How Sasuke could've died… How…." Unable to finish the thought, he just glanced at Kakashi before his gaze moved to observe the ground.

"How you tapped into the Kyūbi's chakra to save him?" Kakashi suggested. Naruto gave him a surprised look before nodding. "Well, I only have basic knowledge in seals, but..."

The blond shook his head quickly. "I'm not really worried about the seal, I just... The Nine-Tails... He spoke to me. I feel we might not know as much about him as we think we do."

Kakashi didn't say anything at first, opting for a simple nod, in agreement. "I don't think we know _anything_ about him, really. His motives, his past, no one has ever really taken it into consideration, I suppose. I can't blame anyone, either. It's hard to feel empathy towards the one destroying your home."

Naruto hummed in agreement. He and Kakashi simply sat in silence for a while, both watching the night sky. A faint streak of light flew across the dark canvas above them, casting a flickering light across their faces. Sighing, Naruto spoke, "I honestly hope that one day the Nine-Tails and I can _at least_ get along. I know some details regarding his attack now, and I know that we have him pegged wrong. But, despite all that, he won't talk to me. I really don't get it. You try to be nice to someone, and they just shut you out. Kinda like Teme over there…" A slight glare was shot at Sasuke's sleeping form.

Kakashi chuckled lightly, "I don't think calling him a bastard is being nice, Naruto-kun. But I get where you're coming from. You know…" he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "if anyone in this world can understand the Nine-Tails, it'll be you, Naruto. If you can't, then I don't think _anyone_ can." Naruto looked at his sensei with a determined gleam in his eyes. "But, for now, you need rest. We've got some distance to cover if we want to reach the Leaf by tomorrow. You can ponder on it later."

Nodding, the blond plopped down, shutting his eyes. Not even a moment had passed when he found himself in his mindscape again. Holding up two fingers in greeting, Naruto said, "Yo, Kurama. Need something? I was kinda trying to sleep, -tebayo."

Kurama simply opted for a half-hearted glare. Sighing, he spoke, **"You** _ **are**_ **sleeping, Naruto. Just not mentally."** Seeing the confused look on the blond's face, he quickly moved on. **"Anyway, yes. There is a reason you're here. I was listening to your conversation with Kakashi-brat. I will admit, I'm quite surprised at the amount of faith he places in you, and your judgment."**

Naruto laughed briefly before he realized the thinly-veiled insult the Fox had directed at him. "Hey, that was uncalled for!"

" **I did not bring you here to bicker with you, Naruto. I'd like to discuss some things with you,"** Kurama rumbled, lazily sparing a glance at his host. **"I'll leave most of your training to your sensei – that** _ **is**_ **his job, after all – but I'm going to teach you how to properly utilize my chakra, as well as your own. Quite frankly, your control is abysmal. It amazes me you can even perform a simple substitution. Being a Jinchūriki didn't help you out, either. You're reserves are so large that no matter how hard you train, you won't ever be perfect."**

Naruto frowned dejectedly, sending the floor a death glare. "It's not my fault the earlier academy teachers didn't teach me well…"

Kurama, surprisingly, nodded his head in agreement. **"I never said it** _ **was**_ **your fault. And even if your control won't ever be 'perfect', you can still improve it vastly through practice. Tomorrow, I'd recommend asking Kakashi-brat if he has any more chakra control exercises you could work on."** Naruto nodded, his frown slowly fading. He knew his control had never been great, and it was something he _did_ want to improve, so he had no qualms with this. **"In addition, I'd like to start training you with using my chakra. Of course, this must be done in secret. I do** _ **not**_ **want this seal tightened any more than it already is,"** the last part came out as a growl.

After discussing the fine details of Naruto's training, the Fox let the blond rest mentally. He woke up the next morning at roughly six, blearily rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he sat up. Kakashi was dousing the last embers of their fire with a low-power suiton jutsu, while Sasuke and Sakura were both packing their bedrolls and strapping on their gear. Naruto grunted as he stood, stretching, before letting out a loud yawn.

"Oh, good," Kakashi looked at the blond. "You're up. Go ahead and pack your things. We need to leave in ten minutes if we're going to make it to Konoha today."

Naruto nodded before blearily donning his kunai holster and equipment pouch. He was in the process of rolling up the sleeping bag when his stomach growled. Frowning, he looked to Kakashi, "Oi, Kaka-sensei, do we have any more cup ramen?"

The silver haired jonin looked at his blond with an incredulous look. _I swear, that kid is like a vacuum when it comes to ramen._ "No, Naruto. We ran out yesterday morning, remember?"

The blond let a look of disappointment cross his features before nodding.

"Here," Kakashi extended a hand to Naruto. In it was a simple ration bar. A mumbled 'thank you' was heard, before the blond took the bar. As he ate the tasteless food, he started thinking about what Kurama had told him last night. He sighed as finished off the bar.

 **-Later that day-**

They'd been walking for about four hours in relative silence, which was surprising, considering Naruto's talkative personality. However, everything wasn't really as silent for the blond as it was for everyone else.

" _ **Brat…"**_ Kurama mentally growled at him. _**"I said drop it."**_

 _Hey, I'm just trying to be nice. The least you could do is tell me_ why _you hate everything,_ Naruto retorted mentally. For the past hour, the Jinchūriki had been trying to understand the roots of the Bijū's hatred for humanity, but the fox wouldn't reveal anything, which was quite odd, in Naruto's opinion. He figured the Fox would've jumped at the opportunity to rant about 'stupid humans', but, for some reason, Kurama wouldn't say a thing.

" _ **I don't hate everything. I hate your species,"**_ Kurama growled again.

 _Then what_ don't _you hate, huh?_ Naruto pressed. He'd get _something_ out of this conversation if it was the last thing he did.

" _ **A lot of things. If it has nothing to do with your kind, than I most likely harbor no hatred towards it. Unless it's Shukaku."**_

 _That answer was as bad as the one Kakashi-sensei gave us during team introductions…_ Naruto mentally grumbled. _Look, Kurama, I'm just trying to be your friend, and you're making it incredibly difficult._

" _ **Ever thought that might be because I don't**_ **want** _ **a friend, brat?"**_

 _Nuh-uh! Everyone wants a friend, even if they don't realize it themselves,_ Naruto protested. He would've continued, but a growl cut him off.

" _ **This conversation is over. Now ask the silver-furred one about chakra control exercises,"**_ Kurama dismissed. Naruto had quickly learned Kurama's way of referring to people. The Fox denoted people by their 'fur' color, or specific traits he noticed about them, thus making Kakashi the 'silver-furred pervert'.

Sighing, Naruto relented. Jogging up a few steps, he came to Kakashi's side. "Hey, Kaka-sensei?"

Without raising his gaze from his book, he replied, "What is it, Naruto?"

The blond genin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before grinning, "I was kinda wondering… do you have any chakra control exercises that I can do? I know my control is really bad, and I wanted to work on that."

The jonin hummed in thought before answering. "There are a few more I know of, but the one that's supposed to come after tree climbing requires a body of water," Kakashi explained, "which, you can see, we don't currently have. When we get back to the Leaf, I'd be more than happy to help you out, though."

Naruto grinned, and let out a shout of excitement. Sasuke gained a determined gleam in his eyes, and Sakura had a faint smile adorning her features.

Ever since their fight on the bridge, all three of them had changed. Naruto, obviously, through meeting Kurama, and learning the empty feeling of loss. Sakura had an overwhelming feeling of uselessness throughout the mission, even after the fight. She had a minor epiphany, realizing that she needed to become stronger so she wouldn't hold her team back.

Sasuke had been hit hard, mentally. He was _furious_ with himself for seizing up like that. Because of his fear, Naruto had almost died, and he hated to admit it, but he cared about the blond. He didn't want to feel like dead weight. After all, if the dead last was stronger than he was, how would he ever beat Itachi?

He knew that he _must_ get stronger. There was simply no other way.

The journey continued in a relatively tame fashion. Naruto attempted to continue his assault of questions against Kurama, but the Fox cut their mental link, silencing the blond. Sasuke was rather contemplative for the remainder of the journey, though if you didn't know him well, his contemplation would look more like brooding. Sakura wasn't fawning over Sasuke as much as she normally would've, for some reason, either. Eventually, they made it to the gates of Konoha.

"Home sweet home!" Naruto shouted excitedly. Despite his treatment, Naruto undeniably loved his village.

Snapping his book shut, Kakashi quickly looked at his genin. "Alright," he started. "I'll go report to the Hokage. You three can go get lunch, then meet me at our usual training ground in two hours. Sound good?"

Receiving an affirmative from the preteens, he nodded and made his way to the Hokage tower. _This'll be one complicated report to write…_

 **-With Naruto—**

There aren't many places you'd have to go to find one Naruto Uzumaki. In most occasions, he'd be at his apartment, in the training grounds, or at Ichiraku. Sometimes, the blond would also appear atop the Hokage Monument, sitting on one of the Fourth's spikes of hair overlooking the village. Today, was no exception to this rule, as Naruto raced down the road towards Ichiraku Ramen.

Darting into the stand, he swiftly plopped onto a stool, a huge grin plastered on his face. "Hey Teuchi-jiji, Ayame-nee-chan!"

"Naruto-kun!" Ayame shouted excitedly, before poking her head through the door to the back room, shouting, "Hey dad, Naruto's back!"

A few clinking sounds were heard, before a middle-aged man made an appearance, peaking his head through the doorway. "Welcome home, Naruto! How was your mission?"

Naruto grinned, rocking back and forth in his seat. "It was great-ttebayo! Wave is a pretty cool country, ya know?"

Teuchi laughed, "Really now? What's it like?"

"Well," at this, Naruto's face fell slightly. "Up until recently, they haven't been doing too great. Some guy named Gatō was using the island as his headquarters for all sorts of nasty stuff. But a friend of mine took care of him, so now, they're great!"

Teuchi and Ayame hummed in thought before the older man gently set a bowl of miso ramen in front of the blond. "Here ya' go, Naruto. On the house."

Naruto grinned, reaching into the chopstick container in front of him, grabbing a pair. "Thanks, Teuchi-jiji, Ayame-nee-chan!" The blond dug into the food vigorously, attempting to take his mind off what had been bugging him, but even as he polished off the bowl, he found his thoughts still lingering. "I learned a lot, dattebayo…"

Teuchi gave him a look that urged him to continue.

"I mean, it's a lot different out there than I thought it would've been. Good people somehow get caught on the wrong path, and… it just goes wrong from there. I met two… no, three people who were like that. Two of them were our enemies, but became allies, in the end. The third, well…"

" _ **Naruto… I can still hear your blabbering…"**_ Kurama all but growled. _**A lecture from this brat is the last thing I need…**_

 _I know. That was kinda my intention,_ the blond retorted. "I also learned that, even if someone gets set on that bad path, they're not locked in place. They can take a fork in the road back to the good side whenever someone shows them that fork exists. But, I dunno, I'm kinda rambling I guess…"

Teuchi hummed and nodded in agreement. "Actually, you have a very good point. People can change, no matter how set in their ways they are." He reached over the counter and rubbed Naruto's hair. "I'm glad to see you've learned that so early. It's good to have faith someone's ability to change." _I know that first hand. Not only can initial perceptions be wrong, they can be tainted and ruined by what others say._

 _All in all, I'm glad I ignored the rumors about you, Naruto-kun. You're a great kid, and you've got a fantastic life ahead of you._

 **-With Kakashi—**

"Well, that about sums it up, Hokage-sama," the masked nin said.

Hiruzen had his hands intertwined together in front of him, elbows resting on his desk. He sighed, "That is very intriguing. I expect your written report to be filed by the end of the week."

Kakashi nodded his affirmation, and was about to leave when the Hokage stopped him. "Before you go, Kakashi-kun…"

The copy-nin stopped, turning back around, "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen leaned forward intently. "You said Naruto tapped into his tenant's chakra, yet you commented that it felt 'different'. Is there any elaboration you can provide?" He had a vague worry that there might be something wrong with the seal, but Jiraiya was away, and he was the only one who would be able to tell.

"Well, the Kyūbi's chakra, from my experience has always been filled with malice, and anger. Those feelings were present, yes, but… they almost seemed to be resonating with feelings of sorrow, and regret. I'm not sure how entirely why that might be, but it seemed odd, to say the least."

Hiruzen hummed in agreement. "That is rather... _peculiar..."_ The man sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll contact Jiraiya. It's about time he spends some time with his godson anyway."

 **-The next day-**

Naruto casually kicked a pebble back and forth across the bridge, his arms folded back behind his head. He let out another irritated sigh, kicking the small rock harder this time, sending it cascading into the water with a _splish! Where is Kakashi-sensei?! We need to train, damnit!_

 _ **"Shut your muzzle, brat. Trust me, I hate it as much as you. Anything that makes you complain this much should be punished."**_ Kurama grumbled out.

"Naruto. Quit pacing," Sasuke growled out in seeming irritation. "It's annoying."

Said blonde whirled around to face Sasuke. "Shut up! It's not like your doing anything better!"

Sasuke scoffed, hands in his pockets. For a while, he didn't say anything, simply opting to think. He just couldn't get that red chakra Naruto had used off of his mind. It had been so _malevolent,_ he'd almost lost his bladder. He legitimately believed it to be worse than Itachi. "Naruto... what was that chakra? Back on the bridge, I mean."

Naruto's eyes widened in mild surprise briefly. Kurama had been warning Naruto that this may come, but the blonde had always pushed it from his mind, so he didn't really have a response ready. "I... uh..." Sasuke looked at him expectantly. "Well, it's kinda complicated, ya know?"

Frowning, the Uchiha scoffed before turning away, muttering a simple "Whatever..."

Luckily for Naruto, Kakashi showed up before any more questions could be asked. "Hello, my wonderful genin!" he greeted enthusiastically, only to receive shouts of irritation at his usual tardiness in return. Ignoring their dismay, the silver-haired teacher spoke. "Today, we'll be starting on the water walking exercise. Basically, it's exactly what it sounds like. You'll be tasked with finding a way to use your chakra to walk atop the surface of the nearby creek. Good luck!"

After a frown from Sasuke, a shout from Naruto, and a slightly worried look from Sakura, the three watched as the jonin made his way to a tree near the river, propping himself up against it and pulling out his book. A few minutes passed in which he seemed utterly oblivious to his genin's questions and complaints before he looked up, asking "Well, what are you guys waiting for?"

 **-That evening-**

Sakura, of course had been the first to get it. That's not to say she didn't get adequately drenched in the process, though. Naruto and Sasuke made many attempts, but neither of them could stay atop the surface for more than a second at most before losing control.

"Damn it..." Naruto ground out as he pulled himself from the water again. "Why is this so hard?"

Sasuke didn't say anything as he grabbed a towel and threw it at Naruto. Kakashi'd long since left for the day, as had Sakura, but those two were insistent on finishing the exercise. Abruptly, Sasuke spoke, "Will you tell me about that chakra now?"

Naruto, who'd been using the towel, looked up at Sasuke again. "I... Sasuke..." Naruto stuttered out. "I'd really just rather not talk about it..."

Sasuke scoffed as he continued to glare intensely at the blonde Jinchuuriki. "What, you afraid I'm going to make fun of you, or something? Don't be an idiot. I don't have time for that."

"I..." Naruto hesitated. He wanted to tell Sasuke, he really did. But at the same time...

 _ **"Brat... don't utter a word to him. He is not ready to learn of me. I can still since his distrust of you."**_

 _You can sense his distrust? How?_ Naruto asked, surprised to hear from Kurama so suddenly.

 _ **"It's one of my abilities,"**_ the Fox stated. _**"I'm able to sense the negative emotions of others; what they fear, who they hate, and the large spectrum in between."**_

"Naruto? Hey, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted at his friend (he'd never admit that openly) worriedly. After trailing off, the blonde had just... frozen. He'd had this far away look in his eyes, like nothing in the world was there.

"Huh, what?" Naruto mumbled out before realizing what he'd done. "Oh, sorry, Sasuke. I kinda spaced out there, for a second."

Sasuke stared at the blonde with an unreadable expression on his face. "Dobe, did you just have a seizure?"

And thus, they bantered through the night, all the while Naruto was slowly dragging Sasuke out of his antisocial shell.

 **-A few weeks of training and D-Ranks pass...-**

Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi sat just outside of the mission assignment room with varying expressions on their faces. Sasuke had a slight frown on his face, highlighting either his disdain for the wait, or for their previous missions. Sakura seemed rather content to wait it out. Naruto, on the other hand, was rocking in his chair impatiently, though he occasionally stilled, seemingly at the most random of moments. Kakashi was, of course, reading his book casually.

 _Ugh..._ Naruto groaned mentally. _I want a real mission, dattebayo!_ In the past few weeks, Naruto had been talking to Kurama more and more. The Fox had been working with Naruto on his control of demonic chakra, though it was nothing majorly intensive, so they wouldn't attract undue attention.

 _ **"Naruto. Shut up,"**_ Kurama grumbled. Despite still acting as angry as usual, Kurama had actually been opening up to Naruto just a little bit. By no means did he 'like' the blonde, but he certainly held more tolerance for him. _**"I'm trying to take a nap."**_

 _But you're alwaaaaaays sleeping, Kurama..._ Naruto whined. _Like, seriously, that much sleep can't be healthy for you._

 _ **"Do I look like I care?"**_ the Bijuu growled out, sending a mental image of himself snarling to Naruto.

 _You look pissed off, but that's normal. I swear, you brood more than Sasuke!_

 _ **"What did I tell you about comparing me to an Uchiha, brat?!"**_ Kurama roared, causing Naruto to physically flinch. Noticing this, Kakashi shifted his gaze to Naruto.

"Something the matter, Naruto?" he asked.

Naruto laughed hesitantly before nodding, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, yeah, everything's great, Kaka-sensei. I just remembered I left my milk out. Again." Relieved that Kakashi seemed to accept the obvious lie, Naruto responded to Kurama. _Kurama, I meant it as a joke. You really need to lighten up._

 _ **"No, I do not need to 'lighten up'. You need to learn some respect."**_

 _I know you don't trust me, Kurama. But why? If you can really sense negative emotions, then you'd sense my lies, right? You'd know if I was lying to you. But I'm not. I haven't said a single lie to you. I really do want to be your friend, because if you don't get along with your teammates, how can you ever be successful?_ Naruto paused. _You know I want to clear your name, one day. I know you weren't lying when you said you didn't want to attack the village. Plus, I know what it feels like to be ostracized and labeled. You've been with me my whole life, so I'm sure you know that._

For a while, no response came. The silence drew on for so long that Naruto though Kurama may have been ignoring him. But then, he heard a heavy sigh, followed by something he didn't think he'd hear from the Fox for a long time. _**"I appreciate that you're trying to help me, Naruto. I just don't think it'll be as easy as you think for you to earn my trust. Yes, I can see that you're not lying, but deep down, I don't believe my own ability. I've trusted humans with good intentions in the past, but it never ended up well. But..."**_ for a while, Kurama hesitated. _**"Naruto Uzumaki. You have something no other human does. You have an unyielding determination, and I can tell that you'll push yourself to your deathbed if it means accomplishing your goals. I... can respect that, so from now own, I'll try to be a little more... friendly..."**_

Naruto, before saying anything, closed his eyes, entering his mindscape. He saw Kurama looking at him with a small, surprisingly non-menacing grin on his muzzle. "Really?" It came out as an excited shout.

Kurama's ears twitched slightly at the volume, but he nodded nonetheless. **"I've no reason to lie, do I?"**

"I'm just happy you're giving me a chance, -tebayo!" Naruto shouted excitedly dashing towards the bars of the cage. Just as he was nearing them, one of Kurama's tails slipped in front of him, blocking his path.

 **"While it's great to see you're... enthusiastic, I said I would try being more friendly. That doesn't mean we're all 'buddy-buddy' now, got it? If you keep up with your annoying tendencies, I might be inclined to rethink my decision,"** Kurama grumbled out, an annoyed overtone to his voice. Naruto merely nodded, his grin still wide. **"You're attention is being called. I think your team is leaving you behind."**

Naruto's grin instantly faltered as his eyes snapped open in the real world, shooting out of his seat as though it were a frying pan still on the burner. He quickly bounded a few steps to stand in front of his team. Sakura was impatiently tapping her foot, while Sasuke was leaning against the door frame, his typical scowl on his face. Kakashi had a subtle look of concern, but he hid it rather well with his usual jovialness. "Done napping, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto simply grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "Sorry about that, Kaka-sensei. I guess I must not have gotten enough sleep, ya know?" the blonde chuckled lightly,

Kakashi, of course, instantly saw through the lie, but he didn't outright say anything to confront the short genin. "Alrighty. Just don't let it impact your mission performance," he chided lightly. _I'll have to talk to him about it later..._

Ten minutes later, they left the mission briefing room, a new assignment in Kakashi's hand. It was a relatively simple C-Rank, just a delivery run to a village towards the southern border of Fire Country.

But if there's one thing you know about Team 7, it's that there's no such thing as a 'simple' mission.

 **A/N: #SettingTheStage. Yeah I suck, I know. I take waaaaaaaaaay to long to update. It's literally been months, and I'm ashamed of myself for writing this. And I really can't present a valid excuse. It can pretty much be chalked up to my intense laziness over the summer. Now that I'm back in school, for my senior year, no less, I think I'll be updating more often, as weird as that sounds.**

 **I've already got the next chapter planned out, and it should be up within a few days, but it's probably best to not hold me to that. Nonetheless, thanks a ton for everyone who either patiently, or impatiently, waited for this new chapter. I really hope it wasn't disappointing, but I feel like it probably was. Next chapter will have some action, I promise.**

 **Till next time,**

 **Foxy**


	5. An Update

Been a while, eh? I'm posting this as a little update, sadly, no new story content at this time.

However, I'd like to let everyone know that this story hasn't been abandoned. It just got burried under life, and moreover, a lack of motivation. While I definitely don't want to make any promises I can't live up to, I will definitely say that I am currently in the process of rewritting the story thus far, and I will hopefully be able to, _at the very least_ , continue the story on till the end of the first arc, which I honestly failed to do.

Some really important notes.

The general beginning plot is going to be getting some restructuring. I feel like a lot of things in regards to the pacing, and general feel of it were just… off. I plan on fixing that issue.

I won't be posting any of the revisions any time soon. As much as I know that will disappoint, I just don't want to be the guy who posts revised chapters, then never posts again.

The fic itself will change from a NaruHina pairing, to a gen fic. The main reasoning behind this is due to the way canon Naruto is structured. It doesn't make sense for me to inject romance when the story will follow canon for the most part.

There will be some deviations from canon however. It is technically an AU after all. What those will be, I can't say.

I'm going to do my best to pace Naruto and Kurama's relationship. I kinda feel like it was rushed in the initial version, and as much as I totally want those two to be friends at the very least, it doesn't make sense for either of them to get buddy-buddy instantly.

Generally, that's all the main stuff I wanted to get across. I know it sucks that I'm not going to be adding more content now, and I get that it might be frustrating, getting an email that's like "Tied Together: Story Updated" when in fact, it's just me talking to you.

I also want to make it super clear. **While I fully intend to write this story and release it to you awesome readers, I honestly don't know if I'll be able to pull it off. I might lose interest in the fandom like I did before, or I might just not have the time.** This is part of the reason that **I'm not going to post any pieces of the story until it is, at the VERY LEAST, halfway done.** That might mean the story won't hit until late 2017. It might mean the story hits 2020. I don't know, and I honestly can't make promises.

However, I fully intend to post regular updates regarding the story's progress and general status. If you're interested in receiving these updates. come follow me on Twitter dys_fox

Thanks a ton for your support. It seriously means the world to me, and I hope I don't let any of you down.


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